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Friday, May 25, 2012

Another Tip Worth Passing Along-Again

It's been a long time since I've passed along the Tip of the Week from My Fit Foods but I thought this week's tip was really great. I found it very coincidental that I have had 2 conversations with 2 different people about the things discussed in this tip- I'd call that a sign! (if you believe in that sort of thing)

These tips come to my inbox every week from My Fit Foods Corporate Nutritionist, Meg McCall. You can sign up to receive helpful tips every week by going to www.myfitfoods.com and signing up!
*MFF does not compensate me whatsoever for passing along these tips. Though it would be cool, I'm just a customer who believes in what they sell.*

My Fit Foods: "Tip of the Week"
Slim Down For Summer...With A Few Tips

Bikini season is officially here and many of you are getting into a state of panic. Some of you may be wondering how long you can really suck that tummy in or thinking to yourself, "Are swim shirts really not cool?" But not to worry, there is nothing more motivating than vanity and we are here to give you some quick tips to see a real difference in the next few weeks.

Set your alarm on your phone for every three hours.

It is crucial that you follow your schedule to the "T". Eating every 3 hours will control your blood sugar and keep you from overeating. Remember that when you over do it on portion size, even if it's healthy, it sends your insulin level soaring. Insulin is our major storage hormone and high levels automatically mean, "Store Fat!"

Write your food down.

A really important study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that people that wrote their food down daily lost twice as much weight in one year than those that did not. Writing down your food is a huge lesson in awareness. Take it a step further by logging your food in a calorie counter from websites such as Livestrong's My Plate or Lose It. Many of these have My Fit Foods meals already uploaded.

Change up your workout routine.

"Muscle confusion" is big in the work out world for one reason, it works! If we can keep changing up our routine we will enhance our metabolism, build muscle faster, and increase our human growth hormone which is crucial for aging well and losing fat. We have many partners and friends in fitness at My Fit Foods, and we are always happy to share the information with you. Ask your Nutrition Coach for a good personal trainer recommendation.

Cut back on restaurants.

Did you know that the average restaurant meal has around 1000 to 1500 calories? For example,
the Chicken Pad Thai from Pei Wei has:
1,440 calories (that's more than our small meal plan in a whole day)
5,140 mg of sodium (less than 2,300 mg a day is considered within "healthy range") 62 grams of sugar (that is 15 teaspoons of sugar - a Coke has 10 teaspoons) 210 grams of carbs (that's double the amount of our small meal plan in a whole day) 40 grams of fat!

Up your Fish Oil.

Studies show that 3 to 6 grams of fish oil increases fat loss. This may seem like an oxymoron but here is the reasoning behind why it works:
Fish Oil encourages better blood sugar levels which will keep you from storing as much fat. Fish Oil has a positive effect on leptin and serotonin levels which improve cravings. Fish Oil actually turns on enzymes that metabolize fat.

Get serious about Shut-Eye.

Fascinating sleep studies show us that getting less than 7 hours a night lowers fat loss by 55%. I am also a big fan of having a very dark room or wearing a sleep mask because this will affect all your night time hormones including melatonin, human growth hormone, leptin, and ghrelin which all have a direct relationship with fat loss.

I hope these tips encourage you to get started right now to look and feel your best for summer. And nothing makes us scream "help!" like swimsuit season. For further motivation come and sit down with one of our Nutrition Consultatns who can personalize your meal plan with a 21 Day Challenge. We will get you ready for summer skin bearing and help you truly enjoy that summer vacation. After all, who wouldn't want to be 5 to 10 pounds lighter for that trip to the beach?